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Blinken OSA Archivum - Night of the Museums 2017 Program

Blinken OSA Archivum - Night of the Museums 2017 Program 16.00- 24.00

Exhibition in Galeria Centralis: Afghanistan, Graveyard of Empires: The Soviet War

The Soviet intervention in Afghanistan unleashed the last major international armed struggle of the Cold War period. Retrospectively, it seems paradoxical since Afghanistan had never been a central area of the Cold War before this conflict broke out. The Soviet leadership was initially reluctant to intervene and it proved to be, indeed, a fatal decision in every way. It brought a bloody war on Afghanistan with an appalling toll of human life and great suffering. Its moral, political, financial and military strain also contributed to a great extent to the collapse of the Soviet empire. In addition, the Soviet intervention pushed the Afghan state into chaos, and the disastrous global consequences of this state failure are still unresolved.

For those visitors to the exhibition who are willing to participate in a quiz, the Fruccola café, which will be open all night, will offer a taste of genuine Afghan food.

17:00/19:00. Guided tour of the exhibition by the curator

16:00-24:00 Tours of the building: Exhibition hall and archive in a museum space. The industrial monument that is the Goldberger building is opened up to public view once a year. The basement of the building holds records of the fieldwork that underpinned Radio Free Europe's broadcasts during the Cold War, as well as the collection of Human Rights documents.